WEBVTT - LISTEN | Jets Opponent Series - Los Angeles Rams (6/29) 0:00:03.040 --> 0:00:06.040 Welcome to another edition of the Official Jets Podcast powered 0:00:06.080 --> 0:00:09.760 by Amazon Web Services. The Opponent Preview series stays out 0:00:09.800 --> 0:00:12.440 West as the Jets take on the l A Rams 0:00:12.720 --> 0:00:16.280 in Week fifteen, just one week after another West Coast 0:00:16.280 --> 0:00:19.120 trip against this Seattle Seahawks, and e A and I 0:00:19.160 --> 0:00:22.120 caught up with Rams team reporter Serena Morales. We talked 0:00:22.200 --> 0:00:24.680 Jets Rams and before we do that, I just want 0:00:24.680 --> 0:00:27.160 to circle back to what I just alluded to. This 0:00:27.200 --> 0:00:30.160 is the second trip of a back to back West 0:00:30.200 --> 0:00:34.000 coaster late in the season, yeah, the second half, and 0:00:34.159 --> 0:00:36.840 it's going to be interesting when we get to that 0:00:37.040 --> 0:00:40.080 point if the Jets do indeed stay out in the 0:00:40.080 --> 0:00:44.959 West Coast following their matchup with the Seattle Seahawks on December, 0:00:45.720 --> 0:00:51.440 because then ensuing game is in l A against the Rams, 0:00:51.600 --> 0:00:54.800 and it will be the Jets second appearance in the 0:00:54.840 --> 0:00:58.360 new l A Stadium in two thousand and twenty, and 0:00:58.440 --> 0:01:02.920 it's there, I know, matchups of the year against the 0:01:03.040 --> 0:01:07.160 NFC West. And in terms of dal A Rams, where 0:01:07.200 --> 0:01:10.800 do they fit in the West right now? Because it 0:01:10.880 --> 0:01:15.039 feels like a team in transition. We've talked about the 0:01:15.120 --> 0:01:18.480 forty Niners, who the Jets open up the season against 0:01:18.560 --> 0:01:22.600 at home in a week two, and how complete they are. 0:01:23.040 --> 0:01:27.760 They just narrowly missed winning the world's title last year. 0:01:28.040 --> 0:01:31.760 The Seattle Seahawks, who the Jets see the week prior 0:01:32.000 --> 0:01:35.440 to this matchup. As I just said, they have Russell Wilson, 0:01:35.560 --> 0:01:39.520 so they're going to be a threat no matter anytime 0:01:39.840 --> 0:01:42.560 they take the field. The Arizona Cardinals. A lot of 0:01:42.560 --> 0:01:45.560 people believe that the Cardinals are an off swing with 0:01:45.640 --> 0:01:50.640 Cliff Kingsbury and Kyler Murray of course, and is you 0:01:50.720 --> 0:01:54.400 mentioned before your Syracuse along Chandler Jones on the defensive 0:01:54.400 --> 0:01:57.200 side of the ball, plus Patrick Peterson, they had DeAndre 0:01:57.440 --> 0:02:00.960 Hopkins to the mix. So with all that being said 0:02:01.000 --> 0:02:05.840 about the NFC West, where did the Rams fit in now? Yeah? 0:02:05.880 --> 0:02:09.200 I almost feel like people forget about the Rams. I 0:02:09.240 --> 0:02:12.080 think it surprises people, at least when you look back 0:02:12.120 --> 0:02:14.680 on it that the Rams were nine and seven last year. 0:02:14.720 --> 0:02:18.359 It feels like people almost write them off because they 0:02:18.360 --> 0:02:20.839 missed the playoffs, even though the year before they went 0:02:20.840 --> 0:02:22.920 three and thirteen, well nine and seven in the a 0:02:23.040 --> 0:02:25.360 f C probably would have gotten them in, or at 0:02:25.400 --> 0:02:28.200 least they would have had a chance. Like the Tennessee Titans, 0:02:28.320 --> 0:02:31.480 And this is a different Rams team than I think 0:02:31.760 --> 0:02:34.200 a lot of fans are accustomed to seeing, at least 0:02:34.240 --> 0:02:36.120 in the past couple of years, with a new defensive 0:02:36.160 --> 0:02:41.880 coordinator and no Brandon Cooks, a kind of refurbished offensive line. 0:02:42.320 --> 0:02:45.520 I just personally, e a, I don't know what to 0:02:45.600 --> 0:02:48.640 think of the Rams because on one hand, they're not 0:02:48.840 --> 0:02:51.440 far removed from a Super Bowl run, and on the 0:02:51.480 --> 0:02:54.720 other hand, they just feel very different from that run. 0:02:54.800 --> 0:02:57.520 And you'll hear from Serena Moraley shortly like I didn't 0:02:57.520 --> 0:03:01.320 realize the Rams had a top ten defense last season. Yeah, well, 0:03:01.360 --> 0:03:04.760 they do have a couple of studs on the defensive 0:03:04.760 --> 0:03:08.440 side of the ball and Aaron Donald, who still might 0:03:08.480 --> 0:03:11.880 be the top interior defensive alignment in the league. Guys, 0:03:12.000 --> 0:03:16.760 is an absolute, uh crazed medicine there. And then Jalen 0:03:16.919 --> 0:03:21.160 Ramsey is a top five quarter cornerback easily in the 0:03:21.280 --> 0:03:25.280 National Football League. But like many teams out there, you 0:03:25.320 --> 0:03:28.920 see definite strength. But yeah, that definitely caught my eye. 0:03:29.000 --> 0:03:32.880 Went Wade Phillips was dismissed in the off season and 0:03:33.200 --> 0:03:36.080 the Rams decided to go in another direction. And then 0:03:36.160 --> 0:03:39.320 the offensive side of the ball, we thought about Todd 0:03:39.400 --> 0:03:42.600 Gurley for years, and now he is in Atlanta. He's 0:03:42.600 --> 0:03:44.120 gonna be playing for the fall, and so he got 0:03:44.200 --> 0:03:48.440 a changing backfield behind golf. They really didn't protect while 0:03:49.240 --> 0:03:53.080 last offseason and didn't get things moving in the run game, 0:03:53.240 --> 0:03:56.280 and a lot had to do with injuries. I do 0:03:56.440 --> 0:03:59.360 like the receivers and some of their pieces at tight end, 0:03:59.400 --> 0:04:04.640 but it's like for every strength you have with the Rams, 0:04:05.000 --> 0:04:08.120 then somebody can counter and talk about a weakness. So 0:04:08.640 --> 0:04:11.760 I don't know greens as we look at the Rams 0:04:12.280 --> 0:04:15.480 right now if this is a playoff team in two 0:04:15.560 --> 0:04:18.520 thousand twenty. But you gotta give a lot of credit 0:04:18.560 --> 0:04:20.560 to Sean McVeigh and what he's done there. It's just 0:04:21.080 --> 0:04:24.039 it seems like they're just going through a lot of 0:04:24.240 --> 0:04:27.280 change right now, and some of it's positive, but some 0:04:27.360 --> 0:04:30.880 of it is going to require some time. Did you 0:04:30.920 --> 0:04:35.800 see recently that Aaron Donald posted a video asking essentially 0:04:36.279 --> 0:04:39.200 Sean McVeigh to put him in on goal line situations 0:04:39.240 --> 0:04:42.040 on offense. And not only that, it wasn't even as 0:04:42.040 --> 0:04:44.440 a running back. He was lining up as a receiver 0:04:45.240 --> 0:04:47.359 outside of his pool. And then he showed off his 0:04:47.440 --> 0:04:50.719 hands on a little nor football three or freaking athletes 0:04:50.760 --> 0:04:53.680 doesn't surprise me. Right, we saw j J. Walt Watt 0:04:53.800 --> 0:04:58.320 catch a touchdown pass against the Jets relatively recently. Right, 0:04:58.360 --> 0:05:01.480 we saw a what do that? And hey, if you're 0:05:01.520 --> 0:05:03.719 Aaron Donald, why the hell not? You can do everything 0:05:03.720 --> 0:05:05.760 on the defensive side up. Also, why not get some 0:05:05.800 --> 0:05:10.320 touches offensively? Exactly? All right, Well, let's hear from Serena 0:05:10.360 --> 0:05:13.000 Morales real quick to learn a little bit more about 0:05:13.000 --> 0:05:17.120 this Rams team in I want to start off with 0:05:17.200 --> 0:05:20.560 a broad question. I feel like a lot of the 0:05:20.600 --> 0:05:23.039 external media view the Rams are taking a step back 0:05:23.120 --> 0:05:26.479 last year after a thirteen and three Super Bowl run season. 0:05:26.880 --> 0:05:29.560 So from your angle, what do you think the biggest 0:05:29.560 --> 0:05:32.520 difference was between last year's team and the team that 0:05:32.560 --> 0:05:36.560 made it to the Super Bowl. A lovely strong offensive 0:05:36.680 --> 0:05:40.240 line that had no injuries at all. You know, we 0:05:40.800 --> 0:05:44.039 have had like a lot of criticism towards Jared Goff 0:05:44.120 --> 0:05:46.760 last season because it was like, wow, that's a very 0:05:46.880 --> 0:05:50.000 Unjared like year, But we didn't look at the guys 0:05:50.000 --> 0:05:52.800 who were protecting Jared Goff that old line. You had 0:05:52.880 --> 0:05:56.400 your center injured, you had both cards injured, you had 0:05:56.440 --> 0:05:59.680 a taco injured. Really the only man that was consistent 0:05:59.760 --> 0:06:03.320 on at O line was the oldest person in the league, 0:06:03.400 --> 0:06:06.960 Andrew Whitworth, who was like the guy on the sidelines 0:06:07.080 --> 0:06:11.279 and in that line, keeping everything as consistent as possible. 0:06:11.600 --> 0:06:13.920 And mind you, there were a lot of great things 0:06:13.960 --> 0:06:16.040 that came out of that from learnings. I mean, I 0:06:16.080 --> 0:06:19.440 think you know, you stall Jared worked through a very 0:06:19.480 --> 0:06:22.120 difficult time. If you don't have guys that are protecting you, 0:06:22.200 --> 0:06:24.600 and you know that Jared Goff's strength is to throw 0:06:24.640 --> 0:06:28.039 the ball down the field with his arm um and 0:06:28.080 --> 0:06:30.520 you're not protected, that's gonna be a problem for you. 0:06:30.640 --> 0:06:33.440 So I think you saw a difference there a lot. 0:06:33.880 --> 0:06:36.120 I think there were some injuries that outside of the 0:06:36.120 --> 0:06:39.039 old line that also affected that. Gerald Everett was injured 0:06:39.080 --> 0:06:42.120 our tight end, when you later on saw someone like 0:06:42.160 --> 0:06:44.919 Tyler Bigby step up and have an incredible season and 0:06:44.920 --> 0:06:47.599 you like had uh four games in a row of 0:06:47.640 --> 0:06:49.760 a hundred yards. So I mean there were guys that 0:06:49.839 --> 0:06:52.960 certainly stepped up as the as the season progressed. But 0:06:53.200 --> 0:06:55.960 that O line, the injuries of Note Bloom and Allen 0:06:56.000 --> 0:06:59.840 and Rob Havenstein were critical, and I think this year now, 0:07:00.040 --> 0:07:02.479 with a lot of rests, we're gonna see that old 0:07:02.480 --> 0:07:05.800 line come back way more consistent, way more ready. I 0:07:05.880 --> 0:07:08.880 get props to Austin Blythe who stepped in and went 0:07:08.920 --> 0:07:12.080 from a guard position to center and really like, calm 0:07:12.200 --> 0:07:14.520 down the madness, because if you think about it, you 0:07:14.560 --> 0:07:18.400 had guys who had never had NFL experience come in 0:07:18.720 --> 0:07:20.960 and they were thinking, you're a rookie coming into the league. 0:07:21.000 --> 0:07:23.440 All right, well, I've got a little time to work 0:07:23.440 --> 0:07:27.440 into this position. Nope, you are going in right now, buddy. 0:07:27.600 --> 0:07:30.080 Good luck. So I think those things we just kind 0:07:30.080 --> 0:07:32.320 of look past because we're like, we're an NFL player, 0:07:32.400 --> 0:07:34.600 you know how to play football, that's it, and and 0:07:34.640 --> 0:07:37.360 that's not actually how it works. So I give a 0:07:37.360 --> 0:07:38.920 lot of props to the old line and give a 0:07:38.920 --> 0:07:41.679 lot of props to, you know, just the entire offense 0:07:41.760 --> 0:07:43.840 that really worked with a lot of those injuries. So 0:07:43.880 --> 0:07:47.520 that was to me, that was the biggest difference that 0:07:47.640 --> 0:07:51.360 took place outside of some smaller, you know, like individual 0:07:51.400 --> 0:07:53.920 injuries like a Gerald Everett. But then that opened up 0:07:53.920 --> 0:07:56.800 opportunities for Tyler Higbee to have an incredible end of 0:07:56.840 --> 0:08:00.320 the season where the Rams fit in the NFC West. 0:08:00.360 --> 0:08:02.400 A lot of people would say the San Francisco forty 0:08:02.440 --> 0:08:06.160 Miners are the most complete team in football. Russell Wilson 0:08:06.520 --> 0:08:09.480 is one of the most valuable performers in the NFL, 0:08:09.560 --> 0:08:12.040 so you're gonna be dealing with him for a while. 0:08:12.320 --> 0:08:14.840 And a lot of folks are high in the Arizona 0:08:14.880 --> 0:08:18.400 Cardinals this year and their young coach Cliff Kingsbury and 0:08:18.480 --> 0:08:23.440 their young quarterback Kyler Murray. I mean, Cliff Kingsbury really 0:08:23.520 --> 0:08:26.320 put them on the market after he showed off his 0:08:26.400 --> 0:08:30.360 backyard to all of us during the draft. I think there, 0:08:30.480 --> 0:08:32.800 so it's like, oh wait, we gotta put the Cardinals 0:08:32.880 --> 0:08:36.360 up there in the NFC West. I think that the 0:08:36.440 --> 0:08:39.480 nfacy West in general is just an unfair place to 0:08:39.559 --> 0:08:43.000 be because they're so good and I'm sure all of 0:08:43.040 --> 0:08:47.160 them have very nice backyards like Cliffs. However, we really 0:08:47.200 --> 0:08:50.680 saw an improvement with all of the teams in the draft, 0:08:50.840 --> 0:08:53.880 and so really what I think the Rams, what I 0:08:53.920 --> 0:08:55.760 think that the Rams are really gonna have to prove 0:08:56.120 --> 0:09:00.160 in the NFC West is an improvement of the up 0:09:00.160 --> 0:09:03.320 the run game. Because you have the Seahawks who love 0:09:03.400 --> 0:09:05.679 running the ball, You've got the forty Niners who love 0:09:05.720 --> 0:09:07.640 running the ball, and you've got the Cardinals, You've got 0:09:07.679 --> 0:09:10.400 Kyler Murray's gonna run the ball himself. So I think 0:09:10.440 --> 0:09:13.480 really and I think the Rams have done that this offseason. 0:09:13.520 --> 0:09:15.880 They picked up guys like a Sean Robinson, they brought 0:09:15.960 --> 0:09:18.839 back Michael Brocker's. You know, they're trying to figure out 0:09:19.040 --> 0:09:22.199 and mean, who's gonna work at the linebacker's position, because 0:09:22.200 --> 0:09:24.560 there's been a lot of changes there with the departure 0:09:24.600 --> 0:09:28.439 of Clay Matthews. But I think overall, Leonard Floyd, another 0:09:28.440 --> 0:09:31.199 guy they brought in a new DC, Brandon Staley, who 0:09:31.480 --> 0:09:34.920 I've heard amazing things from the players in general that 0:09:35.080 --> 0:09:38.960 this guy is energetic, he has the respect of the players. 0:09:39.280 --> 0:09:43.040 So if you're gonna now focus on this this particular spot, 0:09:43.080 --> 0:09:47.880 which actually was a top ten defense already last season, 0:09:48.120 --> 0:09:50.400 and you're gonna improve and make sure that you're keeping 0:09:50.440 --> 0:09:53.600 that there so that way, when Aaron Donald is double teams, 0:09:53.840 --> 0:09:55.840 you're still gonna be able to stop a run game. 0:09:56.080 --> 0:09:58.360 I think that's the key. And then in addition to that, 0:09:58.559 --> 0:10:02.800 obviously to bringing back Jalen Ramsey, I saw a lot 0:10:02.800 --> 0:10:05.920 of great things from Troy Hill, a guy like a 0:10:05.960 --> 0:10:09.360 safety like um John Johnson coming back from an injury 0:10:09.400 --> 0:10:12.520 will be significant to the defense as a whole. But honestly, 0:10:12.559 --> 0:10:14.760 I know we talked a lot about the difference between 0:10:15.120 --> 0:10:17.360 last year and the year before that. When the Rams 0:10:17.400 --> 0:10:20.160 went to the Super Bowl was offense, but now we're not. 0:10:20.240 --> 0:10:22.720 We're gonna be able to also focus on defense, which 0:10:22.800 --> 0:10:25.680 is pretty key if you're gonna rank anywhere in the 0:10:25.800 --> 0:10:28.720 NFC West. I could see all of the NFC West 0:10:28.760 --> 0:10:32.319 teams somehow making you know, playoff run. It's it's kind 0:10:32.320 --> 0:10:34.800 of ridiculous that the Rams are in a predicament to 0:10:34.880 --> 0:10:38.720 play all these teams twice. Like good for us? All right, 0:10:38.760 --> 0:10:42.480 So quick follow up there from Afar. It was a 0:10:42.520 --> 0:10:46.640 surprise that Wave Phillips was dismissed one of the Rams, 0:10:46.800 --> 0:10:50.520 specifically coach McVeigh. They're seeing Staley and how is that 0:10:50.679 --> 0:10:53.280 defense going to change in terms of how they attack. 0:10:54.160 --> 0:10:56.559 So they're trying to keep it as consistent as possible 0:10:56.640 --> 0:10:59.920 from the Wade Phillips regime to the Brandon Staley regime. 0:11:00.120 --> 0:11:02.680 I haven't heard of any changes on the three four 0:11:02.720 --> 0:11:06.400 defense teams, so I mean, really they love The only 0:11:06.440 --> 0:11:09.600 thing that was significant over from last season to moving 0:11:09.600 --> 0:11:12.240 into this season is they lost the corner like Nickel 0:11:12.280 --> 0:11:15.199 will be Coleman, who was a very significant corner. I 0:11:15.240 --> 0:11:18.160 mean he was nicknames alot about. But I think again, 0:11:18.440 --> 0:11:20.440 we've got a lot of players that can step up. 0:11:20.480 --> 0:11:22.640 They've they've drafted a couple of guys who could be 0:11:22.640 --> 0:11:27.199 working either safety and or a corner, which will be significant. Um. 0:11:27.280 --> 0:11:30.400 The Rams this offseason drafted from a lot of top 0:11:30.440 --> 0:11:33.480 tier schools like most of the time, and I give 0:11:33.480 --> 0:11:36.080 it to the the props to the scouts, but you know, 0:11:36.120 --> 0:11:39.240 you're got getting guys like Eastern Washington, like a Cooper 0:11:39.320 --> 0:11:42.160 Cup or a Sanson a become who are like, oh, 0:11:41.720 --> 0:11:44.120 I think I've heard of this guy and maybe didn't 0:11:44.360 --> 0:11:47.080 splash at the draft or the combine the way that 0:11:47.120 --> 0:11:50.240 you would normally see guys splash. But then obviously Cooper 0:11:50.280 --> 0:11:52.880 Cup becomes one of the best whiteouts in the NFL. 0:11:53.080 --> 0:11:55.800 So they've been very good at, you know, finding those guys. 0:11:55.840 --> 0:11:58.320 But I think this year in particular, they're looking for 0:11:58.360 --> 0:12:02.040 guys to step in and go in and play. And again, 0:12:02.080 --> 0:12:04.480 I think they've had some learnings from maybe you know, 0:12:05.200 --> 0:12:07.480 some of the injuries that they experienced from the old 0:12:07.559 --> 0:12:10.880 line last season. So I could see, you know, them 0:12:10.960 --> 0:12:13.880 kind of switching things up. But right now, because we're 0:12:13.920 --> 0:12:15.920 in a situation where we haven't really been able to 0:12:15.920 --> 0:12:18.079 get on the field field and go into training camp, 0:12:18.400 --> 0:12:21.280 that is still to be to be seen. But Brandon 0:12:21.360 --> 0:12:25.520 Staley a lot of respect I've heard from multiple players 0:12:25.520 --> 0:12:27.559 like Jalen Ramsey in particular, is just like I love 0:12:27.600 --> 0:12:31.960 his energy. Other cornerback Troy Hill loves his energy, and 0:12:32.040 --> 0:12:34.439 so I'm excited to see what he can do. He 0:12:34.640 --> 0:12:38.240 comes from a great background. So let's go. Let's bring 0:12:38.280 --> 0:12:41.760 this on. I want to keep things on the defense 0:12:41.800 --> 0:12:44.920 because I feel like when a lot of people think 0:12:44.960 --> 0:12:47.920 about the Rams, you think about Sean McVeigh and this offense, 0:12:48.320 --> 0:12:51.600 and I'm just curious how you would evaluate the Rams 0:12:51.640 --> 0:12:54.800 defense based on strength and weaknesses. Obviously you think of 0:12:54.840 --> 0:12:58.199 guys like you mentioned Aaron Donald and Jalen Ramsey. But 0:12:58.240 --> 0:13:00.360 if you're the Jets when you traveled to l A 0:13:00.440 --> 0:13:03.040 and you face this defense I finished top ten last year, 0:13:03.400 --> 0:13:06.959 where do you go about attacking them? Well? I mean 0:13:07.080 --> 0:13:09.240 I I really do think that the Rams took a 0:13:09.280 --> 0:13:13.040 significant step this offseason to make sure that their run 0:13:13.080 --> 0:13:16.120 game was strong and that was more focused. Obviously, again, 0:13:16.200 --> 0:13:18.520 we I joke. But it's like, the Rams have to 0:13:18.600 --> 0:13:21.679 play three other teams that have great run games, so 0:13:21.720 --> 0:13:23.840 they've got to focus on that, right, And that's what 0:13:23.880 --> 0:13:26.679 they did with a Sean Robinson and Leonard Floyd. They 0:13:26.720 --> 0:13:29.280 brought back Michael Brocker's I will tell anybody in the 0:13:29.360 --> 0:13:33.280 universe that I don't know what bottles were popped, but 0:13:33.400 --> 0:13:36.680 I know Aaron Donald was so happy when they brought 0:13:36.720 --> 0:13:39.960 back Michael brocker Is to play on that d line. Um, 0:13:40.559 --> 0:13:43.080 I don't think people realize Also when you have a 0:13:43.120 --> 0:13:46.120 guy like Aaron Donald, well maybe people do realize it 0:13:46.120 --> 0:13:49.160 because it's Aaron Donald, but Aaron Donald opens up a 0:13:49.200 --> 0:13:51.040 lot of the game on the other end. So if 0:13:51.080 --> 0:13:54.480 you have an edge raction's like doing well, they don't 0:13:54.520 --> 0:13:57.520 have to face the same amount of pressure if Aaron 0:13:57.520 --> 0:14:01.280 Donald's there. Because we've seen table their tape game after game, 0:14:01.320 --> 0:14:04.439 Ara Donald will go through a wall and it's okay, 0:14:04.520 --> 0:14:06.480 and somehow he's like, oh, yeah, I just made it through, 0:14:06.520 --> 0:14:09.480 no problem. I found this small, little inch gap and 0:14:09.520 --> 0:14:11.640 I made my way through an attack the quarterback. So 0:14:11.720 --> 0:14:15.200 I think, um that we don't realize that he opens 0:14:15.320 --> 0:14:17.640 up the rest of this side of the of the game. 0:14:17.720 --> 0:14:20.080 And so the run game I think will be a 0:14:20.160 --> 0:14:24.520 huge improvement consistent from last season, if not more. Um, 0:14:24.520 --> 0:14:26.960 but I think a significant part of that was Michael Proper. 0:14:27.120 --> 0:14:30.120 So if you're trying to beat the Rams, you know, 0:14:30.240 --> 0:14:32.920 I really do think that the run game has already improved, 0:14:33.040 --> 0:14:36.280 but the past game obviously has a guy like Jalen Ramsey. 0:14:36.320 --> 0:14:39.560 I think Troy Hill is someone who's been very underrated 0:14:39.600 --> 0:14:42.640 over the years. Um. You know, last year you saw 0:14:42.720 --> 0:14:46.080 changes like a key to Leaves departure and Marcus Peters departure, 0:14:46.080 --> 0:14:49.080 and there were changes just overall, but Troy Hill really 0:14:49.120 --> 0:14:51.680 stepped up. And a person that you really lacked on 0:14:51.800 --> 0:14:55.280 that past run game was a guy like John Johnson, 0:14:55.280 --> 0:14:58.640 who had a shoulder injury. Has I've seen him training 0:14:58.680 --> 0:15:01.560 this offseason and he looked strong and his main focus 0:15:01.640 --> 0:15:03.520 is He's told many time and time again, he's just 0:15:03.600 --> 0:15:05.760 like screen, I just want to get back. A guy 0:15:05.840 --> 0:15:08.240 like Taylor Rap has done a great job stepping into 0:15:08.240 --> 0:15:12.360 that safety linebacker position. So I mean, right now i'd 0:15:12.360 --> 0:15:16.000 say just you know, maybe don't play offense and just 0:15:16.080 --> 0:15:20.240 go straight to you know, trying to stop the Rams. 0:15:20.280 --> 0:15:23.720 But I'm really excited to see you know, just the 0:15:23.840 --> 0:15:27.560 Rams overall focused on all the little minute parts that 0:15:27.640 --> 0:15:31.160 maybe we don't think about. In addition to Sean McVey, 0:15:31.280 --> 0:15:33.320 we'll say this time and time again, in order for 0:15:33.400 --> 0:15:36.560 us to win games, it's offense, defense, and special teams. 0:15:36.600 --> 0:15:39.320 The Rams have a new special teams coordinator, a job 0:15:39.360 --> 0:15:42.280 bon Amigo. Um, they're keeping a guy like Johnny Hecker. 0:15:42.600 --> 0:15:46.360 John bon Amigo has already said, I know that Johnny Hecker, 0:15:46.880 --> 0:15:50.600 can you know fake punt, be a quarterback, be a punter, 0:15:51.000 --> 0:15:53.240 be a kicker. So you've gotta go like that, who's 0:15:53.280 --> 0:15:57.080 consistently been with the Rams since he was drafted. Um, 0:15:57.120 --> 0:15:59.640 so that'll be That's the one nugget that I'm like, Oh, 0:15:59.680 --> 0:16:02.720 I'm interested to see how this team kind of gets 0:16:02.760 --> 0:16:05.320 pulled together because right now they also have three kickers 0:16:05.360 --> 0:16:07.440 that are going to compete for the job, which will 0:16:07.600 --> 0:16:11.120 I mean competition breed success. So it'll be an interesting spot. 0:16:11.200 --> 0:16:14.440 But I really don't know. I could give the Jets 0:16:14.480 --> 0:16:16.800 anything if it comes to whether you're gonna beat him 0:16:16.800 --> 0:16:19.080 on the run of the pass game. What is in 0:16:19.240 --> 0:16:23.000 store for the Rams offense this year? You mentioned mcbaby before. 0:16:23.280 --> 0:16:26.200 Jared Goff, a veteran in the National Football League. That's 0:16:26.200 --> 0:16:29.560 a changing backfield behind him. No more Todd Gurley cam 0:16:29.600 --> 0:16:32.720 Akers was drafted. I know they like the receivers. You 0:16:32.760 --> 0:16:35.680 mentioned the old line being a weakness last year because 0:16:35.680 --> 0:16:39.120 of health. There doesn't seem to be a lot of 0:16:39.240 --> 0:16:43.360 changes up front though, in addition to better health. How 0:16:43.440 --> 0:16:47.720 much of this is their success? The Rams offensively going 0:16:47.760 --> 0:16:52.000 to be on golf this year, so Robert Wood said 0:16:52.520 --> 0:16:54.480 maybe a couple of weeks ago he was just like, 0:16:54.680 --> 0:16:57.600 I would love to see this Rams offense go back 0:16:57.600 --> 0:17:00.280 in the air again. I think, Um, there's a lot 0:17:00.320 --> 0:17:04.199 of obviously eyeballs on Cooper Cup and Robert Woods. And 0:17:04.240 --> 0:17:06.879 again with the departure of a guy like Brandon Cooks, 0:17:07.119 --> 0:17:09.600 you saw, those three guys are like WHOA. The Rams 0:17:09.640 --> 0:17:12.119 drafted a guy like Van Jefferson, who I have heard 0:17:12.359 --> 0:17:15.320 is pretty much the same as a Cooper Cup and 0:17:15.560 --> 0:17:19.240 Robert Woods. He is a smart wide receiver. Um, he 0:17:19.359 --> 0:17:22.840 will find his open spaces, he maximizes on those parts, 0:17:22.880 --> 0:17:27.680 and he's consistent with Sean McVeigh loves consistency. This wide 0:17:27.680 --> 0:17:29.960 out group in particular is a group that does not 0:17:30.160 --> 0:17:33.320 drop the ball. Josh Reynolds is another guy I think 0:17:33.400 --> 0:17:36.320 is underrated who would be constantly asked to step in 0:17:36.480 --> 0:17:39.760 at times and he would be like, okay, like I've 0:17:39.760 --> 0:17:41.840 got to jump in for a Brandon Cooks or Robert 0:17:41.840 --> 0:17:43.960 Woods or Cooper Cup, which is not easy to do. 0:17:44.119 --> 0:17:46.920 So I really do think that the RAMS wide out 0:17:47.160 --> 0:17:50.119 group is only getting better with a guy like Van Jefferson, 0:17:50.320 --> 0:17:52.840 who's a coach his son, so I mean, you guys 0:17:52.880 --> 0:17:56.840 know him, actually, so I do believe that Van Jefferson 0:17:56.960 --> 0:17:59.679 is gonna be great. They also, again you said it 0:18:00.119 --> 0:18:03.960 picked up a guy like Hamakers and Makers succeeded uh 0:18:04.000 --> 0:18:07.680 in a Florida State offense who had a pretty roughed 0:18:07.760 --> 0:18:10.240 up OH line as well. So if we are looking 0:18:10.280 --> 0:18:12.840 at like, okay, what happened last year and what were 0:18:12.880 --> 0:18:15.200 things that the Rams needed to fix, not only are 0:18:15.240 --> 0:18:17.440 we healing up our OH line, now we're gonna bring 0:18:17.440 --> 0:18:19.280 in a running back they can work with the dinged 0:18:19.320 --> 0:18:21.120 up old line and he'll still figure out a way 0:18:21.119 --> 0:18:23.560 to succeed. So I think that will be really interesting. 0:18:23.840 --> 0:18:26.320 Darryl Henderson is another running back that didn't get as 0:18:26.400 --> 0:18:29.040 much playtime last year. Obviously, if you got a Todd 0:18:29.160 --> 0:18:31.680 guy like Todd early out you're not going to see that. 0:18:31.800 --> 0:18:33.840 But this year, I think there's a lot more space 0:18:34.040 --> 0:18:37.360 for to see a guy like Darryl Henderson to succeed um. 0:18:37.400 --> 0:18:39.320 And then Malcolm Brown has been sort of the steady 0:18:39.359 --> 0:18:42.280 horse in this running backs group, and so I could 0:18:42.320 --> 0:18:45.040 also see you know, a mix there. I mean, you 0:18:45.080 --> 0:18:47.200 saw the year that the Rams went to the Super 0:18:47.240 --> 0:18:50.000 Bowl just two seasons ago. The Rams ran a very 0:18:50.040 --> 0:18:53.480 consistent eleven personnel and that was because you know, Sean 0:18:53.520 --> 0:18:55.960 McVeigh was trying to mask all the different plays that 0:18:56.040 --> 0:18:59.760 they ran. Sometimes you saw Robert Woods blocking, sometimes you 0:18:59.800 --> 0:19:03.239 just Cooper Cup playing running back or tighten. I mean, 0:19:03.240 --> 0:19:06.240 there were so many different changes that Sean McVeigh tried 0:19:06.280 --> 0:19:09.240 to do. Well, now you've got a new running back, 0:19:09.280 --> 0:19:12.240 a new wide receiver that replicate exactly what you're kind 0:19:12.240 --> 0:19:15.040 of trying to do and hiding your your plays on 0:19:15.160 --> 0:19:17.919 offense along with the Tyler Higby who have been the 0:19:18.000 --> 0:19:21.000 last four or five games of the season really showed 0:19:21.000 --> 0:19:23.440 what he can do. Let's not forget we still have 0:19:23.520 --> 0:19:26.960 Gerald every who had some injuries last season, who also 0:19:27.119 --> 0:19:31.000 has the opportunity to do things. So while I stay, yeah, 0:19:31.080 --> 0:19:34.040 Jared Golf has to you know, didn't have a Jared 0:19:34.080 --> 0:19:37.240 golf season last year due to some of those injuries. 0:19:37.480 --> 0:19:39.720 Now we've got guys who are healed up. Now we've 0:19:39.760 --> 0:19:42.280 got some new pieces to this offense that Jared can 0:19:42.400 --> 0:19:45.359 use um at his disposal. What do you think about 0:19:45.359 --> 0:19:48.720 some happenings off the field for your franchise to l 0:19:48.800 --> 0:19:52.200 A Rams moving into a new stadium and Serena will 0:19:52.240 --> 0:19:56.400 will you will we see you on Hard Nuts. Now 0:19:56.480 --> 0:19:59.000 I'm trying to figure out how to get on this show. 0:19:59.480 --> 0:20:03.080 Everyone's oh the clickers that are like on Hard Knocks, 0:20:03.080 --> 0:20:05.600 And I'm like your team reporter man, like, let's go. 0:20:05.760 --> 0:20:09.480 I'm just here, you know, hang now, Uh no, I am. 0:20:09.520 --> 0:20:12.479 I'm excited. Hard Knocks cool, especially because it's the Chargers 0:20:12.480 --> 0:20:16.480 and the Rams going into Gray Stadium. Everyone's got new uniforms. 0:20:16.520 --> 0:20:19.760 Are really excited about the uniforms. Actually, I love the 0:20:19.800 --> 0:20:23.120 fact that the Rams have the first off white bone coloring. 0:20:23.280 --> 0:20:26.119 Like I feel like the players are all like, all right, 0:20:26.320 --> 0:20:29.639 like put on a new uniform. I've made this comparison before, 0:20:29.720 --> 0:20:32.640 but as someone who loves running and working out, like 0:20:32.960 --> 0:20:35.080 what is like the best part? Like sometimes you're like, oh, 0:20:35.119 --> 0:20:36.800 I really don't want to work out. But if you 0:20:36.840 --> 0:20:39.360 buy those new sneakers and you buy that nice new 0:20:39.400 --> 0:20:42.520 workout here, all of a sudden you're running seven six 0:20:42.560 --> 0:20:45.720 minute miles down the street smiling, you forget all about 0:20:45.800 --> 0:20:48.160 the pain that you're actually putting your body through. So 0:20:48.640 --> 0:20:51.720 I would say, the Rams have a new uniform. Yes, 0:20:51.920 --> 0:20:54.840 please start a hashtag gets Serena on hard knocks or 0:20:54.840 --> 0:20:57.359 maybe we'll figure out something better than that. UM. But 0:20:57.680 --> 0:21:00.600 I'm excited, and I'm I'm I mean, it's great. The 0:21:00.600 --> 0:21:02.959 fact that we're still doing hard knocks. There's two teams 0:21:02.960 --> 0:21:05.800 in l a UM is going to be exciting. The 0:21:05.880 --> 0:21:09.920 Rams have a new look and and that stadium looks amazing. 0:21:10.040 --> 0:21:12.639